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[PAINT & DECALS] ------

B y Ed Hawkins

The new Branchline Trains HO scale reefer kits are replicas of these wood prototypes with their fishbelly underframes. Here are some of the prototypes. you can match with the Branchline kits.
u ring the ear l y 1 990s, Westerfi e l d r e l eased a series of urethane kits in HO scale that are accu rate model s for a variety of the American Car & Foundry standard wood refrigerator cars produced during the 1 9205 and early 1 930s. This includes cars that were built from May 1 927 to the early 1 9305 that Westerfield calls the "Type I I I" design. During this period, AC&F manufactured prototype "Type I I I" cars with wood sides and ends for the U nion Refrigerator Transit Co. (URTCo. ) and the N or th Western Refrigerator Line Co. (NWX ) . In addi tion to cars with these two reporting

marks, other cars were buil t for M orrell Refrigerator Line ( M RX ), Western Refrigerator Line (WRX), and several smaller shippers.

c 1es, the Westerfie l d kits contain a sheet with detai led prototype information. The majority of URTCo. cars dis c ussed herein are fro m AC&F Lot Nu mber 415, an order for 1 ,000 cars that was bui l t in May, J une, and J u l y 1 927. The URTCo. cars were origi n a l l y assigned to the 1 0000- 1 1 909, 1 200012359, 65000-65049, and 87000-87444 number series. Morrell Refrigerator Line were a l located 1 00 cars from this order, series 25000-25099. The order was com p leted j u st prior to URTCo. being acquired by G en er a l A merican Transportation Corp. in 1 92 8 . The proto type cars were 40 feet in l ength, came with KC brakes, and had a n umber of features that distinguish the 1 9 27 design from others offered by AC&F. Spotting features on the cars as-bui l t include the f o l lowing: T hree corner braces per corner Recessed steel side sil l I nset steel end sil l

The Prototype Reefers

Branchline's HO Model
M odels of these cars are now being offered as styrene plastic kits in HO scale by Branchline Trains. Vol um e 4 of the Railway Prototype Cyclopedia c ontains a comprehensive article by Pat Wider on the AC&F wood reefers of the North Western Refrigerator Line, incl uding cars built for the Western Refrigerator Line. As such, we wil l concentrate main l y on the cars bui l t for the U nion Refrigerator Transit Co. and Morrel l Refrigerator Line. For earlier history and coverage of AC&F wood reefers bui l t prior to May 1 927, refer t o articles authored by Al Westerfield in the June 1 989, August 1989, and July 1 992 issues of "The Journal," a s we l l as the January/February 1986 issue of Model Railroading ( out of print). I n addition to the prototype information in these arti-







U.R.T.X.
iC:l!PJ CAP':. lU.L:.li'. soooe

7578

U RTX 7578, ren um bered series 7000-7699, built July 1927. This Union Refrigerato r Tran sit Co . car assigned to Milwaukee Road had been rebuilt an d equipped with A B brakes. -Pho to circa 1951, co urtesy W.e . Whittaker HO S(ale De(als: Cham p HR-1 plus M icro scale 87-789 (fo r herald)

1 4 RAILMODEL)OURNAL . MAY 2000